LYNDEBOROUGH

First look at fire, library budgets

LYNDEBOROUGH — Select Board members reviewed early worksheets for 2013 budgets for the library and Fire Departments at their Dec. 5 meeting.

The Fire Department budget for 2012 could go up by about 3 percent, but Fire Chief Rick McQuade is hoping to make additional cuts to bring that number down.

At a Dec. 5 meeting with the Select Board, McQuade reviewed a budget worksheet that initially called for $77,836, a 4.5 percent increase. During the discussion, the board and McQuade agreed on changes that brought the proposal down to $76,806. They reduced the heating fuel budget from $5,000 to $3,200, based on expected lower prices for propane, while adding $480 to provide cell phone service for on-call fire officers.

They also added $500 for gas and diesel fuel to McQuade’s initial request for $2,000. The town has actually spent just over $3,000 for gas and diesel to date, largely due to the large volume of calls this year.

The board and McQuade also agreed to cut an additional $210 in building maintenance items.

McQuade said he had increased the reimbursement line by $1,000 because, not only had calls increased, but more firefighters were responding. He also increased the training budget by $1,900, which will help fund a first responder course that 10 firefighters have expressed interest in attending. McQuade said one benefit of the course will be the ability to get trucks out more quickly on a call, since the trucks don’t leave until a first responder is available.

McQuade said he’ll be reviewing the budget again prior to meeting with the town’s Budget Committee.

The board also reviewed a first draft of the library budget, which is up 1.5 percent, mostly due to a proposed salary increase that is subject to vote by the library trustees, according to library trustee Bob Rogers.

Dave Anderson can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 233 or danderson@ledgertranscript.com. He’s on Twitter at @DaveAndersonMLT.